Shoe calk



Get., 2, 1934. B, B. WEST v 1,975,133

' SHOE GALK Filed Feb. 17, 1951 Patented Get. 2, 1934 STATES Y SHOE CALK Brennan B. `West, Cleveland Heights, Ohio- Application February 17, 1931,\Serial No. 516,373

2 Claims.

' Thisinvention relates to an improved shoe calk .that is adapted for use by golfers, hikers, hunters, scouts, surveyors, farmers and others, essentially yto prevent their slipping, although the calk serves also to protect the shoes against wear.

The principal objects of the invention are to provide a shoe calk that is highly effective as a means for preventing slipping; that is very durable and efcient as a sole and heel protector; that is simple and inexpensive of manufacture; that may be quickly and conveniently applied by driving; that, when applied, holds very securely against being kicked off or becoming loose; that is comfortable to the wearer in that it has a relatively wide bearing area in the shoe sole thereby to more evenly distribute the pressure on the foot; and that may be removed when worn out without injury to the sole or heel of the footwear and replaced by a new calk in the same location.

Other objects and advantages will appear as I proceed to describe the invention in detail by reference to the accompanying drawing wherein Fig. 1 is a side elevation and Fig. 2 a plan View of my improved shoe calk; Figs. 3 and 4 are sectional views of the calk, the former showing it in position for driving, with the aid of a tool that is indicated in broken lines as applied thereto, and the latter view showing the calk with its prongs driven into and spread within the leather of a sole or heel; Fig. 5 is a bottom view of a shoe with a proposed arrangement of the calks on the sole and heel; Fig. 6 is a reinforcement which may be used in the calks at the extreme points of the toe and heel where the wear is the greatest to prevent deformation of the calk, if such should be found to occur in instances of heavy wearers, or especially hard service; Fig. 'l is a sectional view through a reinforced calk; Fig. 8 is a view of the blank from which the calk of the preceding views is made; Fig. 9 is a plan view, and Fig. 10 a central section, through a modied form of the calk, this form being especially suitable where a relatively heavy sheet metal is used; Fig. 11 shows the blank from which this form of the calk is made, and Fig. 12 shows a further modification.

The present preferred form of the invention is that illustrated in Figs. 1 to 8. The calk, designated generally by the reference numeral 1, is drawn from a blank la (Fig. 8) of sheet metal of suitable gauge to provide a body portion 2 from one end of which prongs 3 extend. The body portion is reduced in size toward the end opposite that from which the prongs project so as to form a shoulder 4; and the inner sides of the. ends of the prongs are beveled or chamfered at 5- In attaching the calk tothe sole or heelof *a shoe, a tool is preferably used, the same being shown in brokenlines in Fig. .3 where it is desig- 60. nated 6. This tool may consist simply of a piece of bar steel recessed at one end, as indicated at '7, to receive the reduced end ofthe calk,the outier end of the bore being iiared to fit the shoulder 4. By means of this tool, the calk can be shifted to and held in the desired position upon the sole or heel and, with the shoe iirmly supported on a last, the tool may be hit with a hammer to drive the prongs of the calk into the material of the sole or heel, designated 8. The fact that the ends 'IAQ of the prongs are beveled will cause them to divert from a straight course when entering the material and flare outwardly as illustrated in Fig. 4. This effectively anchors the calk to the sole or heel, and at the same time very materially .'15 increases the bearing area of the calk in the material and renders a shoe, to the sole of which calks have been applied, more comfortable than it would otherwise be as the pressure of each calk, when the shoe is stood upon, is not concentrated $9 to a relatively small spot, as is the case with calks of the prevailing type.

As the calk wears down it will present a ring contact with the ground on account of its being hollow, and this will enhance the anti-slipping 8,;5 quality of the calk. When the calk has worn almost entirely away it may be removed by grasping what remains of the shell with a pair of pliers and pulling out the prongs, and this obviously can be done without injuring the ma- ,9,0 terial of the sole or heel. A fresh calk can then be driven in the same location and, by placing it so that its prongs will miss the holes of the prongs of the previous calk, it will hold with the same security as the original one, notwith- ,95 standing its occupying precisely the same position. This is also a marked advantage over calks of the character heretofore used.

The calks at the points of the toe and heel of the shoesuch positions being designated X in :i90 Fig. 5-receive the hardest wear and, in cases where the wearer is heavy, or the calks subjected to unusually hard usage, the calks may be strengthened by a reinforcement designated 9 in Figs. 6 and 7. This reinforcement may consist 105 of a conical or other appropriately shaped body J of iron, steel, or other suitable material, and when placing the calk in position for driving it is placed under the same and during the driving operation centers itself Within the calk. This :11;10

reinforcement will prevent the sheet metal shell of the calk from crushing under an especially heavy burden or as the result of a hard blow.

When a heavier gauge sheet metal is employed than that used in the above described design of calk, the calk may take the shape illustrated in Figs. 9 and 1G, in which case less drawing of the metal is required. This calk is formed from a blank of the shape illustrated in Fig. 11 and in the formation of the calk the material is folded in, as shown at 1l, between ribs 12 from the lower ends of which the prongs 13 project.

While I have shown, in both modifications, the prongs beveled on their inner sides, obviously the bevel may be on the outer sides, in which case the prongs will be caused to converge as they are driven and grasp the portion of the leather beneath the oalk in the manner of a claw. This, however, lacks certain advantages of the outwardly aring prong arrangement. It may be explained, also, that the bevel on the prongs is effected by swaging the metal in the forming operation. This renders the metal more dense in the region of the ends of the prongs and the chisel-like point which is given the prongs by the beveling is consequently strong and therefore not likely to turn over when driving the prongs in very hard leather.

In the modification shown in Fig. 12, a solid body 15 has a sheet metal frame 16 engaged about its enlarged lower end and from this frame the prongs 17 depend. An interlocking of the parts may be effected by slightly grooving the body at 18 for the reception of the lip of the frame.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A shoe calk comprising a hollow sheet metal body portion conoidal in general form, pointed at the apex, and having a circumferential slanting shoulder formed in the side wall thereof below the apex and above the lower edge of the bodyportion, and adapted to receive a tubular driving tool centered on said shoulder by the upper part of the body, and also having prongs projecting from the lower edge of the body portion in line with the outside of said shoulder, whereby they may be driven into a shoe by the .impact of said tool without distortion of the body.

2. A shoe calk as in claim 1, in combination with a conical reinforcing member tting in the hollow of the body and designed to support the point of the apex and the shoulder.

BRENNAN B. WEST. 

